Buck McKeon

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I encourage our colleagues to support the en bloc amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 590, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I urge the committee to adopt the amendments en bloc, all of which have been examined by both the majority and the minority. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Indiana (Mrs. Walorski), my friend and colleague, a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I encourage our colleagues to support the en bloc amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 590, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I urge the committee to adopt the amendments en bloc, all of which have been examined by both the majority and the minority, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus), my friend and colleague. (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I encourage our colleagues to support the en bloc amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 590, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I urge the Committee to adopt the amendments en bloc, all of which have been examined by both the majority and the minority. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I encourage our colleagues to support the en bloc amendments. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chairman, pursuant to House Resolution 590, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 134 be modified in the form I have placed at the desk.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 159 be modified in the form I have placed at the desk.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I urge the committee to adopt the amendments en bloc, all of which have been examined by both the majority and the minority. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Young), my friend and colleague.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry), my friend and colleague.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I think we are about done. At this time, I would like to thank my partner. For 4 years, we have had the opportunity of leading this committee, and I could not have had a better person to be working with than Mr. Smith from Washington. He is straightforward; he is honest; he is hardworking, and we just, I think, have had a really good working relationship. I consider him--and I will always consider him--a friend. Likewise, I want to echo the things he said about the committee. I want to thank them. We get all of the plaudits. People get up and thank us and say we have done a great job, but it is these people behind us-- our committee, our staff--that make it easy to do this. I mean, we could have been here until 1 or 2 o'clock this morning, but to make it look kind of easy, kind of smooth, they have been working on it for hours, for days, for weeks, and for months leading up to this point. I don't know much more to say other than ``thank you.'' You are great Americans. People like to beat up on government workers. All I can say is that they are not paid enough for what they do. They can't be paid enough. They are patriots. They are dedicated to this work and to our men and women in uniform and their families, and I thank them for that. With that, Madam Chair, I encourage our colleagues to support the en bloc amendments, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 4435.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 4435, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015. First, let me express my appreciation to Ranking Member Smith for his leadership and friendship. He has been an invaluable partner in upholding our committee's focus on providing for our men and women in uniform. I would also like to thank our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee for their professionalism and their hard work. I am incredibly proud of the bipartisan, transparent, and inclusive process our committee undertakes each year. The bill under consideration today is a strong reflection of the bipartisan priorities and concerns shared by members of the committee, and is the result of diligent oversight that has been conducted throughout the year. It contains 154 amendments that were adopted during markup, and it passed out of committee with unanimous support. The bill would authorize $521 billion for national defense and an additional $79 billion for overseas contingency operations, consistent with the 2013 bipartisan budget agreement and the House-passed budget. While we do not yet have the details of the OCO request, our committee, the House Budget Committee, and the administration, all agree that these funds will be required to support a residual U.S. presence in Afghanistan; other ongoing operations, including in Africa; and the reset and retrograde of equipment for the active, Guard, and Reserve forces. The bill contains no earmarks. It provides vital national security resources for our troops while also maintaining our stewardship over the taxpayer dollar. The bill provides our warfighters, veterans, and their families with the care and support that they need, deserve, and have earned. It continues to advance the substantial reforms introduced in last year's NDAA aimed at preventing sexual assault in the military, and it takes several steps aimed at improving the military's suicide prevention programs. The bill would increase troop pay while rejecting cuts to TRICARE, housing allowances, and commissary benefits that would increase out-of-pocket expenses for military families. The legislation would provide our warfighters with the resources and authorities they need to support an enduring mission in Afghanistan and to continue pressuring al Qaeda and its affiliates. It also maintains strong accountability and monitoring mechanisms for U.S. funds, ensures the development of sound plans tied to resources, and continues the prohibitions on the transfer of detainees to the United States. I recently visited Afghanistan and was encouraged by the progress of coalition forces and developments within the Afghan society. Nearly 8 million kids are in school, and a large percentage of those are girls, compared to the 700,000 that were attending school under Taliban rule. We need the President to signal his commitment and remove the uncertainty that persists among the Afghan people and our coalition partners, which al Qaeda and the Taliban continue to exploit. Afghanistan cannot return to being a safe haven for al Qaeda. In this era of declining resources, the committee was faced with difficult choices as we sought to preserve key capabilities and to ensure our Armed Forces could meet current threats and prepare for future challenges. The bill identifies savings in less critical areas that do not permanently damage the force or harm recruiting and retention. The legislation guards against achieving false short-term savings at the expense of vital long-term strategic capabilities. For example, it supports the refueling of the USS George Washington-- an aircraft carrier with 25 years of service life remaining--and it prohibits the early retirement of Navy cruisers, dock landing ships, and the Air Force U-2 spy planes. These capabilities are vital to our commanders in the Pacific, as well as elsewhere across the globe. It also addresses shortfalls in readiness by resourcing several unmet requirements in equipment, training, and depot maintenance and by fully funding flying hour programs across the services. We must also get more defense for the dollar, which is why the committee has initiated a comprehensive defense reform effort. This bill begins that process with a series of provisions on institutional, acquisition, security, and strategy reforms. However, we must recognize that cost savings and reforms alone do not compensate for the significant cuts to defense in recent years. The Department of Defense has seen over $1 trillion cut from its budget. This year's budget request is over $30 billion less than last year's. The padding has been cut, and the Department is now cutting into the bone--cutting end strength, force structure, and readiness--which is increasing risk to our forces and their core missions. While this bill makes tough choices, Congress will be called upon to make impossible choices in the years ahead if sequestration is not addressed. For 52 straight years, the National Defense Authorization Act has been passed and signed into law. Congress has no higher responsibility than to provide for the common defense, and with that in mind, I look forward to passing this bill for the 53rd consecutive year, my last year as chairman and as a Member of Congress. Serving as chairman has been the great honor of my career. I am humbled by the many soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines whom I have met over the years and by the sacrifices that they and their families make to keep America safe. I am thankful for my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and I am very appreciative of our staff. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), my friend and colleague, who is the vice chairman of the Armed Services Committee and who is the chairman of the Intelligence, Emerging Threats, and Capabilities Subcommittee.